Monte Carlo Fire

Volcanic Topic: Monte Carlo Fire - Read Below

A blaze scorched the top floors of the casino on the Strip this morning. No major injuries were reported and a cause has not been determined.

By Ashley Powers and Jesus Sanchez, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
3:46 PM PST, January 25, 2008

LAS VEGAS -- A large fire raced across the top of the 32-story Monte Carlo Resort & Casino this morning, sending thick plumes of smoke across the Vegas Strip.

Clark County firefighters knocked down the blaze in about an hour after it was first reported about 11 a.m., according to fire officials. The 3,000-room hotel was evacuated and no injuries, with the exception of a few minor cases of smoke inhalation, were reported in the three-alarm blaze.

The cause of the fire that scorched the top of two wings of the Y-shaped high-rise has not been determined, the Clark County Fire Department said. Welders were seen on the roof before the fire broke out, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

"As the first Clark County fire unit headed to the scene from Fire Station 11 near the Strip, they could see smoke," Fire Chief Steve Smith said in a statement. "They immediately called for more units, and we were able to get a handle on this situation very quickly."

Guests, some wearing bathrobes and towels, waited in a parking lot after being evacuated from the tower. There was no sense of panic as they were taken to nearby hotels, including New York New York and the Bellagio.

At its peak, flames licked the western-facing exterior of the hotel. The top several floors were damaged, but it was unclear if the rooms were badly burned. Ashes and chunks of what appeared to be curtains had floated to the ground. Emergency vehicles crowded the streets, which were closed to traffic.

The top floor of the hotel, which opened in 1996, contains numerous luxury suites and penthouses as well as a private lounge for those guests. It was not clear how many guests were staying at the hotel when the fire started.

Fire officials said damage estimates were not yet available. The Monte Carlo will not reopen until after building and fire inspectors have reviewed the resort, whose guests were being put up at sister properties owned by casino-hotel operator MGM Mirage.

The most serious fire at a Las Vegas hotel took place on the morning of Nov. 21, 1980, at the former MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Eighty-seven people died from the blaze and almost 800 were injured. It was the deadliest fire in Nevada history and at the time was the second deadliest fire in U.S. history.

Most of the deaths were attributed to smoke inhalation.

More than 5,000 people were in the 26-story MGM Grand luxury hotel when the fire broke out. Most of the damage occurred in the casino on the second floor and its adjacent restaurants.

That fire was caused by an electrical ground fault inside a wall soffit. The wiring inside the wall was used to power a refrigeration unit for a food display cabinet in a deli.

Times staff writer Michael Muskal contributed to this report.

News From: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-me-montecarlo26jan26,1,5366271.story